By: Sean Crose
You’ve got to credit former welterweight world titlist Errol Spence for being an honest man. In a world where it’s more acceptable to pout and say you were robbed than honestly admitting you’ve been bested, Spence came clean Tuesday on social media. Starting off by responding to lame criticism on Twitter, Spence then addressed his one sided loss to fellow welterweight titlist Terence Crawford last summer. “All that said you can kill the retire s–t tho,” he stated, “yea I got my ass beat s–t was past due I didn’t live exactly like a boxer for the most part lol.”
The 28-1 fighter then reminded his critics that he had been a good sport in defeat from the beginning. “They ask me did I want to do the presser,” he added, “showed up no glasses answered all the questions head up gave bra a hug for the a– whooping good s–t & dipped.” When noted trainer Stephen Edwards weighed in to denounce the cheap shots Spence has been taking online since the loss, Spence stated that “it’s cool the Spence family appreciate them if they been paying to watch this one trick pony.”
Boxing fans can be a cruel and shallow bunch. Fighters who are praised to the moon are suddenly mocked upon tasting defeat. This sort of thing goes back to at least 1892 when, after knocking out heavyweight champion John L Sullivan, Jim Corbett realized the crowd had gone from cheering for Sullivan to cheering for him. It left enough of a bitter taste in Corbett’s mouth for the man to write of it years later in his autobiography. Suffice to say, not much has changed in that regard. Because of the one sided nature of the magnificent Crawford’s performance against him, Spence now finds himself being treated by certain keyboard writers as if he’s second rate.
A dose of reality – one doesn’t earn Olympic glory, go across the ocean to win a world title on his opponent’s home turf, beat one notable after another for years, then battle for the chance to be an undisputed divisional champion by being second rate. Here’s hoping Spence won’t forget that he “didn’t live exactly like a boxer for the most part” before the fight with Crawford. No matter how things happen to shake out for the man in the future, it will always be something well worth remembering.
